DÉFENSE ZONE
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) announced the award on 25 November of a contract “for the operation by the French Navy of the A18D autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV), which can operate at depths of up to 3,000 metres”. Logically enough, it is Exail (born of the merger of ECA Group and iXBlue) that wins the contract, worth “around 3.5 million euros”. The DGA had evaluated the underwater drone developed by ECA Group in 2021.
This contract is fully in line with France’s seabed control strategy. “The objective is to have autonomous underwater systems capable of operating at great depths to carry out the first operational seabed control missions until a permanent capability is available”, the DGA sums up.
Several sea outings are planned from 2023. These are to help define the requirements and concepts of use, “with a view to the future specification of the assets that will be developed to meet the French Navy’s needs”. The work of this first stage is being carried out by the DGA Techniques navales expertise and test centre. A second stage “will subsequently aim to acquire sovereign capabilities for operations in the deep seabed”, the DGA says.
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